Episode Archive

More than 1500 episodes* on just about any kind of thing you can think of. Collectively, we call it “stuff.” There’s definitely something in here that will pique your interest.

*We did the math once and listening every minute of every day, it would take more than a month to make it through the catalog. And what a month that would be!

Selects: Adidas v. Puma: A Sibling Rivalry

April 19, 2025 42 min

Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they go down the sport shoe rabbit hole, detailing the strange tail of the brothers who brought Puma and Adidas to the world. Sibling rivalry, Nazis, shoes - there's a lot to unpack here.

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What Makes Disaster Films Great

April 17, 2025 54 min

Disaster films are surprisingly tough to define. What makes them different from an action movie or a monster movie? Who cares? They’re great! Escape with us as we cover the the ins and outs and the history of disaster films and recommend some good ones.

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Short Stuff: Tick tock goes the Doomsday Clock

April 16, 2025 13 min

The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does this metaphorical clock even indicate?

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Kim Philby: Greatest Liar of All Time?

April 15, 2025 49 min

British MI6 agent Kim Philby was a spy for the Soviet Union and one of the great liars in human history, right up until his retirement in Moscow where he lived out his days as a national hero.

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Selects: Cake: So Great. So, So Great

April 12, 2025 70 min

Cake has been around for a long time, but mostly less than great forms. It took the Industrial Revolution, the advent of plentiful sugar, and some good old American know-how to come together to make the cake we know and love today. Find out all about it in this classic episode.

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Behavioral Priming: Buy, Robot Human!

April 10, 2025 49 min

In the late 90s, a large chunk of the field of social psychology started dedicating itself to figuring out ways to subtly persuade and influence people’s everyday decisions without their awareness. If you’re into freedom of choice, this was a close call.

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Short Stuff: Colorful Noises

April 9, 2025 13 min

We’ve all heard of white noise, that static sound the TV makes when poltergeists arrive. There are other colored noise too that mimic natural sounds like rainfall and ocean waves. What they do for us is just now being studied.

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Editorial Cartoons: Art as Satire

April 8, 2025 52 min

Editorial, or political cartoons, have a rich history in the United States and abroad. And though the Golden Age may have passed, the use of images to create satire and sway public opinion is still alive and well. 

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Selects: Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery

April 5, 2025 53 min

Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author of all time. Listen in this classic episode to learn her story.

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The Pinkerton Detective Agency

April 3, 2025 52 min

The Pinkertons became the most famous detective company in the U.S. But were they noble or notorious? We get to the bottom of it all in today's episode.

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